History of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox

While the game of baseball was played in some form on Cape Cod and throughout Massachusetts since the Civil War, the earliest recorded game played by an organized team representing the Town of Yarmouth took place on July 4, 1876. On that Centennial Independence Day, the Yarmouth Mattakeesetts (named after the indigenous peoples of the area) played the Barnstable Cummaquids at the Barnstable Fair Grounds.

Continuing its tradition of playing on the Fourth of July, Yarmouth played the Sandwich Resolutes in 1887. Yarmouth’s pitcher that day was Fred Tenney, the principal of Yarmouth High School. Tenney went on to play for the Boston Reds and the original Washington Nationals of the American Association, a late 19th-century professional league that eventually merged into Major League Baseball’s National League.

From the time the Cape Cod Baseball League took shape in the late 19th century, various versions of town teams from both Yarmouth and Dennis participated, although the teams often took various forms and names. At the end of World War I, teams were largely made up of returning soldiers. Years later, team rosters began to shift toward local and regional college players. Like other teams in the fledgling league, teams from Yarmouth and Dennis formed, disbanded and re-organized numerous times.

The Cape Cod Baseball League was reorganized after World War II and included among its teams the Yarmouth Indians, who played at John Simpkins School in South Yarmouth, and the Dennis Clippers, who played at Ezra Baker Field in South Dennis, which had stadium lights and was considered one of the best fields on the Cape.

The Dennis Clippers made it to the Cape League Championship Series in 1956, losing to the series to the Sagamore Clouters, 2-0. The team ultimately disbanded for good in 1961.

The Yarmouth Indians were crowned Cape League Champions in 1958 and 1960, besting the Sagamore Clouters in the Championship Series both years. They were led by Merrill “Red” Wilson, a teacher, coach and athletic director at Yarmouth High School. He would go on to manage the Yarmouth club for 16 seasons, beginning in 1966.

In 1968, following the excitement of the Boston Red Sox's 1967 “Impossible Dream” season, the Yarmouth Indians were renamed the Yarmouth Red Sox.

1973 saw the Red Sox move their home games from John Simpkins School Field on Route 28 to Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School on Station Avenue. That same year, Yarmouth made it to the championship but but lost the series to the Cotuit Kettleers, 3-1.

In 1977, the team name was expanded to include the Town of Dennis, which had not had a team since 1961. That same year, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox made their way back to the Championship Series, this time losing to the Cotuit Kettleers, 3-2.

At the beginning of the 1981 season, the home field of the Red Sox was renamed Merrill 'Red' Wilson Field in honor of the legendary Yarmouth player, coach and manager.

From 1987 through 1990, the Red Sox played in the Championship Series three times. In 1987, the team lost to the Harwich Mariners, 2-1. However, with a 1989 Championship Series win over the Hyannis Mets, 2-0, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox captured the area’s first Cape League championship since their predecessor, the Yarmouth Indians, won in 1960. They would go on to repeat as champions in 1990, besting the Wareham Gatemen, 2-1.

In 1998, the team named Scott Pickler as their new manager. A second baseman at his alma mater, San Diego State, “Pick” took over a struggling Cypress College baseball program in 1985, quickly turning the Chargers into a respected California powerhouse. A four-time National Coach of the Year for California Junior Colleges and a five-time state champion, Pickler was the right man for the job.

His tenure as manager ushered in an era of Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox dominance in the Cape League, as the team secured five division titles, made eight trips to the Championship Series and won six Cape League Championships from 2004 through 2016. From 2004 through 2007, the team won three championships, beating the Falmouth Commodores, 2-0, in 2004; Wareham Gatemen, 2-1, in 2005; and Falmouth Commodores again, 2-0, in 2007.

After losing the League Championship Series to the Cotuit Kettleers, 2-1, in 2010, and the Wareham Gatemen, 2-11 in 2012, Pickler led the Red Sox to a stunning three-peat of championships during the 2014-16 seasons, beating the Falmouth Commodores, 2-1, in 2014; Hyannis Harbor Hawks, 2-1, in 2015; and Falmouth Commodores, 2-1, in 2016.

In the years since, the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox have made the playoffs consistently and are a perennial contender for Division and League Championships.

Pickler was inducted into the Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2019.